JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 2009 PREVIEW
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 2009 PREVIEW
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
Looking at the Jacksonville Jaguars right now is not unlike walking in on someone who is cleaning up after a major basement flood. It’s a mess. And not the type of mess that makes you say Here, let me help; more the type that makes you say I’ll come back later. Jacksonville’s cleanup efforts, daunting as they may be, are completely necessary. This was a Super Bowl-hopeful club that stumbled to an ugly 5-11 record last season. Injuries played a huge part––the Jags had an interior offensive line that some high school JV coaches wouldn’t have settled for––but only because this team lacked the character and chemistry to cope with adversity.
Owner Wayne Weaver noticed this and, instead of canning head coach Jack Del Rio, he canned VP of Player Personnel Gene “Shack” Harris. Then he appointed longtime scout Gene Smith to the role of GM and instructed him to can just about everyone else. One of Smith’s first orders of business was saying goodbye to franchise icon Fred Taylor. That move was soon followed with a rally behind Taylor’s understudy, Maurice Jones-Drew. Smith signed the third-year pro to a four-year, $31 million contract, making the explosive bowling ball of a runner one of the five highest paid tailbacks in the game.
The rest of the personnel moves were dedicated to eliminating some of the low-character underachievers who had come to plague this team. This included releasing drug-using former first-round receivers Matt Jones and Reggie Williams, and not re-signing sloppy former second-round left tackle Khalif Barnes or mediocre safety Gerald Sensabaugh. Underachievers with clean police records but personality conflicts like ’08 free agent bust Jerry Porter or veteran linebacker Mike Peterson were also let go. And so were non-achievers like ’08 free agent bust 2.0 Drayton Florence, and grossly-overpaid backup quarterback Cleo Lemon. Consider these moves to be the immediate recovery efforts from the basement flood––pumping out the water and pulling up the carpet, if you will.
The ensuing restoration process commenced with the signing of two former Pro Bowl free agents: left tackle Tra Thomas and wide receiver Torry Holt. Both well-worn mid-30-year-olds were available only because their best years were long behind them. The Jaguars themselves recognized this. On Draft Day they selected two players at Thomas and Holt’s respective positions: offensive tackles Eugene Monroe (first round) and Ebon Britton (second round) and wide receivers Mike Thomas (fourth round) and Jarett Dillard (fifth round).
In a somewhat ominous sign for 2009, these four rookies, along with third-round picks Derek Cox (cornerback) and Terrance Knighton (defensive tackle), all enter training camp with a very legitimate chance at capturing a starting job. Monroe will push Thomas at left tackle. Britton should be able to surpass right tackle Tony Pashos. (Pashos, in turn, could steal staring right guard Maurice Williams’s spot.) The receivers, Thomas and Dillard, are both undersized but speedy, high-leaping, big-play weapons. One of them could capture the No. 2 position across from Holt. Knighton is destined to replace defensive tackle Rob Meier, who was overwhelmed in Marcus Stroud’s old role last year. And Cox, an expensive third-round pick whom some thought, coming out of tiny William & Mary, might actually go undrafted, has a chance to start ahead of cornerback Brian Williams.
Starting job competitions in training camp are like Omega-3 fats: healthy, but only in moderation. A stable NFL team would never have six starting positions available to rookies. Even without the rookies, this Jaguars lineup is in serious flux. On the offensive line, no one knows if guards Vince Manuwai and Maurice Williams can rebound from major ’08 injuries. On the defensive line, only tackle John Henderson’s starting position is set in stone. At linebacker, Justin Durant and Daryl Smith are being shuffled around. And questions abound at cornerback and strong safety.
It all comes down to coaching. Del Rio will fully impress his hardnosed persona on this team. He’s also taking a more active role in the defense––his area of expertise––in hopes of mollifying the confusion that could stem from Mel Tucker being the unit’s third different coordinator in three years. If Del Rio succeeds, he could have this club on the brink of recapturing its playoff status of two years ago. If he fails, he could be fired.
Click here to continue reading or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/jacksonville-jaguars-2009-preview/
Click here for Jaguars quick-hit analysis or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/jacksonville-jaguars-09-quick-hits/
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
Looking at the Jacksonville Jaguars right now is not unlike walking in on someone who is cleaning up after a major basement flood. It’s a mess. And not the type of mess that makes you say Here, let me help; more the type that makes you say I’ll come back later. Jacksonville’s cleanup efforts, daunting as they may be, are completely necessary. This was a Super Bowl-hopeful club that stumbled to an ugly 5-11 record last season. Injuries played a huge part––the Jags had an interior offensive line that some high school JV coaches wouldn’t have settled for––but only because this team lacked the character and chemistry to cope with adversity.
Owner Wayne Weaver noticed this and, instead of canning head coach Jack Del Rio, he canned VP of Player Personnel Gene “Shack” Harris. Then he appointed longtime scout Gene Smith to the role of GM and instructed him to can just about everyone else. One of Smith’s first orders of business was saying goodbye to franchise icon Fred Taylor. That move was soon followed with a rally behind Taylor’s understudy, Maurice Jones-Drew. Smith signed the third-year pro to a four-year, $31 million contract, making the explosive bowling ball of a runner one of the five highest paid tailbacks in the game.
The rest of the personnel moves were dedicated to eliminating some of the low-character underachievers who had come to plague this team. This included releasing drug-using former first-round receivers Matt Jones and Reggie Williams, and not re-signing sloppy former second-round left tackle Khalif Barnes or mediocre safety Gerald Sensabaugh. Underachievers with clean police records but personality conflicts like ’08 free agent bust Jerry Porter or veteran linebacker Mike Peterson were also let go. And so were non-achievers like ’08 free agent bust 2.0 Drayton Florence, and grossly-overpaid backup quarterback Cleo Lemon. Consider these moves to be the immediate recovery efforts from the basement flood––pumping out the water and pulling up the carpet, if you will.
The ensuing restoration process commenced with the signing of two former Pro Bowl free agents: left tackle Tra Thomas and wide receiver Torry Holt. Both well-worn mid-30-year-olds were available only because their best years were long behind them. The Jaguars themselves recognized this. On Draft Day they selected two players at Thomas and Holt’s respective positions: offensive tackles Eugene Monroe (first round) and Ebon Britton (second round) and wide receivers Mike Thomas (fourth round) and Jarett Dillard (fifth round).
In a somewhat ominous sign for 2009, these four rookies, along with third-round picks Derek Cox (cornerback) and Terrance Knighton (defensive tackle), all enter training camp with a very legitimate chance at capturing a starting job. Monroe will push Thomas at left tackle. Britton should be able to surpass right tackle Tony Pashos. (Pashos, in turn, could steal staring right guard Maurice Williams’s spot.) The receivers, Thomas and Dillard, are both undersized but speedy, high-leaping, big-play weapons. One of them could capture the No. 2 position across from Holt. Knighton is destined to replace defensive tackle Rob Meier, who was overwhelmed in Marcus Stroud’s old role last year. And Cox, an expensive third-round pick whom some thought, coming out of tiny William & Mary, might actually go undrafted, has a chance to start ahead of cornerback Brian Williams.
Starting job competitions in training camp are like Omega-3 fats: healthy, but only in moderation. A stable NFL team would never have six starting positions available to rookies. Even without the rookies, this Jaguars lineup is in serious flux. On the offensive line, no one knows if guards Vince Manuwai and Maurice Williams can rebound from major ’08 injuries. On the defensive line, only tackle John Henderson’s starting position is set in stone. At linebacker, Justin Durant and Daryl Smith are being shuffled around. And questions abound at cornerback and strong safety.
It all comes down to coaching. Del Rio will fully impress his hardnosed persona on this team. He’s also taking a more active role in the defense––his area of expertise––in hopes of mollifying the confusion that could stem from Mel Tucker being the unit’s third different coordinator in three years. If Del Rio succeeds, he could have this club on the brink of recapturing its playoff status of two years ago. If he fails, he could be fired.
Click here to continue reading or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/jacksonville-jaguars-2009-preview/
Click here for Jaguars quick-hit analysis or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/jacksonville-jaguars-09-quick-hits/
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